Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Another
personal selection of bourbon is on its way to Daniel's Broiler, expected to
arrive in time for the holidays. A tasting was conducted from samples taken
from barrels resting for the past nine years at one of the oldest distilleries, Heaven
Hills Distillery. Located in Bardstown, KY lies over 700,000 barrels of bourbon
whiskey, waiting to be bottled into Elijah Craig, Evan Williams and Berheim
whiskey.

The
two barrels selected are from seven barrel samples of bourbon from the
Evan Williams Single barrel selection. The only vintage dated single barrel
Bourbon and five time "Whiskey of the Year" award winner. These are
shining examples of the process perfected by sixth and seventh generation
Master Distillers Parker and Craig Beam.

This
barrel selection is the seventh and eighth barrels selected in the past two
years. These are featured in our house Manhattans and are available on their
own for your tasting. Always different than their commercially sold bourbon, these selections have different characters of their own including, more vanilla,
orange and spice that come out in the flavors. We are expecting to have 150
bottles of each barrel delivered in the first week in December 2012. These bottles
will carry the Evan Williams Single barrel label, with the Daniel's Broiler name
on the bottle, but they will only be available for about three months. After that,
we will be onto the next selection, Buffalo Trace. Samples are on their way
also, and the process will begin again. We will continue to find some of the
best barrels of bourbon that we are able to purchase, bottle and bring to you!

Friday, June 22, 2012

The first of the Guest Bartender series evenings will be at Daniel’s Broiler-Lake Union on July 10th from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm. Ryan Magarian will be behind the bar mixing a few of his creations. These cocktails will feature Aviation Gin and Krogstad Aquavit, both are products distilled in Portland Oregon at House Spirits, where Ryan is the Co-founder.

For over a decade and a half, Ryan's unique "chef like" approach to mixed drinks along with the development of several innovative and efficient Professional Spirit and Cocktail Service Cultures locally, nationally, and internationally, has gained him recognition as one of America’s top mixologists.

Ryan’s style and influence can be experienced, in person, at such celebrated watering holes as Oven and Shaker, Portland, OR. The Jade Bar @ Sanctuary Resort in Paradise Valley, AZ., Hyde Bellagio in Las Vegas, The Penthouse @ The Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica, CA., The Westside Tavern in Westwood, CA., and, internationally, at the Fullerton Bay Hotel in Singapore. Additionally, Ryan can be found doing ongoing focused cocktail development, seminars, and bar trainings for a wide range of luxury spirit brands.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Daniel’s Broiler Regional Manager, Mark Hoene, and myself had the chance to visit the Woodford Reserve Distillery a few weeks ago and select barrels of the prized bourbon that would eventually become Daniel’s Broiler Signature Manhattan.

We met with Brown-Foreman’s Master Distiller, Chris Morris, and toured the facility and the rick houses. We learned of the history of bourbon making and heritage of Kentucky’s traditions, which was a memorable experience. We saw the limestone and the spring water that the Old Oscar Pepper Distillery used in 1838 and is still being used today by Woodford Reserve.
Labrot and Graham bought the distillery in 1878 and sold in 1940 to Brown-Forman, which produces Woodford today.

We tasted eight samples from eight barrels at barrel strength and came up with a combination of two barrels for our first Personal Selection. Two barrels needed to be combined due to the “angel’s share” that is lost during the years of aging. Woodford also uses heated rick houses that adds to more rapid aging. After lunch the process continued until another combination was selected for our Personal Selection Barrel Two.

Barrel One has a very aromatic nose at first smell, oranges, candied fruit, cinnamon and honey all pop out. The taste is sweet, oaky, and raisins come through at the end. This will be the first selection to be used as the signature Manhattan.
Barrel Two has less of a nose, but a smooth taste of spice, maple and oak. This one is totally different than the first and will available as the year progresses.

In celebration of the bourbons, we will be having a tasting and unveiling of the Woodford Reserve in the first week in June. More information will follow as the date and times are secured.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Schwartz Brothers Restaurants and Pilchuck Distributing are pleased to announce the First Annual Bellevue Bourbon Bash. This event will be held at the Daniel's Broiler in Bellevue WA on March 22nd from 6:00pm to 9:30pm in the Cascade Rooms.

This is the first event of its kind in the Seattle area, billed as the largest collection of Bourbon and Rye whiskey, west of Kentucky. Celebrating the founders of the whiskey industry and the birthday of Pappy Van Winkle. There will be over 75 whiskies to sample, a commemorative tasting glass and tasting guide for each paid guest. Brand representatives will be available for questions and history of most of the bourbons. Rare and select bourbons have been chosen for this event along with many of your favorites.

Tickets for the event are $125 and VIP $175. The VIP room will be set in the Vintage Lounge and will feature all the Pappy Van Winkle bourbons and 30 more exclusive finds.Appetizers are provided for the event.

Tickets can be purchased in advance by contacting finespirits@schwartzbros.com. These will be made available at the door as will call. Tickets are non-refundable, a limited number of tickets will be available at the door.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Our second dinner in the 2012 Daniel's Broiler Spirit Dinner Series will be with a spirit that originated in Holland and made its way to England; GIN. The United States is the largest consumer of gin and micro-distilleries are popping up all over to create this classic.

The differences in Gin and the four major styles that are available will be discussed at our dinner. We will talk of the history and how it has been produced from the early 17th Century. What botanicals are used and how they relate to your favorite cocktail. Take for instance the Martini, where did it come from, how is it properly made, shaken or stirred. Winston Churchill once said, passing the cork from the vermouth bottle over his drink, was just enough for his Martini.

Our team of Mixologists will be on hand to hand shake your cocktail tableside to accompany each course. You will get to see the tools and the classic martini shakers used to create your own cocktail at home. Come join us for this fun and exciting time.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Our Fine Spirits dinner events have been a great success combining fantastic food and exciting spirits over the past two years. This year we take the events on the road. We will split the events between the Eastside and Downtown locations, at Lake Union and Bellevue. We also have a great Caribbean Nights party coming to Chandler's in May, featuring Rum and cocktails.

Our first event of the year happens on February 1, 2012 at Daniel’s Broiler-Bellevue. The event will be the Evening of Scotch, featuring a variety of Single Malts. Single Malts have come along way recently with extra aging in a variety of casks giving the spirit a new flavor profile.

We will have some of these new styles and different aged spirits paired with the great cuisine, inspired by the single malts. Now is the time to start booking the events by contacting finespirits@schwartzbros.com

The evening will begin with a cocktail and passed appetizers and then we will sit down to a four course dinner created around the fine cognacs for the night. Several marques from the Remy Martin Cognac will be served, but the night will begin with the best, Louis XIII. We decided to start the night with the luxury of this cognac to taste and have the full experience before any other cognacs are tried. For three centuries Remy Martin has been making fine cognacs in the Champagne region of France.

Our host for the evening will be the US Brand Ambassador for Remy Cointreau. He will enlighten all with his wit and knowledge of these fine cognacs. This will be a holiday night to remember.